Prem gave a speech at a seminar hosted by the Foundation for International Human Resource Development on the creation of a learning society according to His Majesty the King's initiatives and his self-sufficiency philosophy.

His Majesty has been talking about the "New Theory" for more than 20 years, but people at the time took little interest as they were keen on becoming an industrialised country, he said.

Now people are turning to the theory, which has never been out of date and will remain applicable in the future, he said.

"Even United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who conferred the Human Development Lifetime Achievement Award on His Majesty on May 26, said at the Foreign Affairs Ministry that if human development meant to prioritise people, nothing was more important than development according to His Majesty's guidelines," he added.

As the country's greatest problem is poverty, e self-sufficiency will help solve it, said Prem.

"His Majesty's policies and speeches are answers to all problems, economic, social and even political, thus I want us to hold to them, because they are pure, holy and useful to all Thais," he added.

Chai Pattana Foundations secretary-general Dr Sumeth Tantivejjakul said in his speech that now was the time for Thailand to stand alone and not follow others after its past attempts to become the Fifth Tiger of Asia (after Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan), despite the country's lack of preparedness and industrial expertise.

"Now it's time for us to bring His Majesty's words, as a guiding light, into action. Don't be afraid of falling off the global train. We must be brave enough to go our own way. Why should we stick on a train we know is bound for disaster? The self-sufficiency economy is the path we should take. We must have the courage to learn from the past," Sumeth said.